Mimesis, cezura i spekulacja w filozofii T.W. Adorna i P Lacoue- Labarthe`a

The aim of this essay is a better understanding of two crucial 20th century conceptions of mimesis. A comparative analysis will be conducted of, on the one hand, Adorno’s theory of mimesis-construction (Ratio) interrelations in the context of the philosophical and political determinants of 20th century art “after” Auschwitz, and, on the other, of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe’s critical interpretation of the aforementioned theory. In his aesthetic theory, with its framework of negative dialectics, Adorno uses the idea of mimesis-construction to define and to describe the very profound, fundamental relation between art philosophy and politics, whereas Lacoue-Labarthe – a French poststructuralist from the second half of 20th century – is focusing on the deconstruction of such interplay in the name of the autonomy of art. The common ground for this comparison is provided by Friedrich Hölderlin’s early poetry and his theory of modern tragedy, as well as Walter Benjamin’s idea of das Gedichtete and Martin Heidegger’s thesis on the role of poetry and the figure of the poet. In short, this essay will aim to present Adorno’s theory as worded in his Parataxis in the light of the critique from Lacoue-Labarthe’s essay titled Il faut.